


Mandira

by whitchry9



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Deaf Clint Barton, Empath, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Magical Coma, Music, Mutants, POV Outsider, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-13 04:03:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5694019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitchry9/pseuds/whitchry9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Daredevil is put into a magical coma during a fight with the Avengers, and even Scarlet Witch can't seem to break him out of it, Professor X sends over one of his mutants to do the job.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mandira

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt: http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/6856.html?thread=12725192#cmt12725192
> 
> ALSO has a playlist: http://8tracks.com/whitchry9/mandira  
> Playlist might be considered spoilery, but whatevs.

Professor Xavier told her she would be needed to help the Avengers, and Mandira was instantly thrilled and terrified. Avengers were a huge deal.

 

“What do they need me for?”

“One of their colleagues was injured in a fight with magic, and they think traditional medicine won't be of use. They have a telepath, but she seems to be having a hard time as well. They think your abilities might be of more use, since you've had more training and your abilities are a bit different.”

Wow. This was it, she'd hit the big times.

 

A car was sent to the school to pick her up, and the ride through the city was nice, if nervewracking. She spend the entire time wondering if she would be able to do anything, or if she'd fail.

 

(There was also the niggling question of why the Professor didn't go himself, since he was pretty much the strongest telepath ever. But she'd also gotten some tense music the few times the Avengers had met with the X-Men, and suspected their working relationship was less than perfect.)

 

The car arrived at the Avenger Tower, and Mandira entered the lobby to find Captain America, in the flesh. It was then that the Professor entered their minds from the comfort of his home in Westchester.

 

<This is Mandira. She should be able to help you find Matthew's mind in order for Wanda to wake him up. I wish you luck.>

Xavier's presence disappeared from their minds. She didn't know why he couldn't accompany her to their headquarters himself, but whatever. She could do this.

 

She smiled at Captain America as he led her into an elevator which began to rise. “Call me Mandy. I don't think my parents knew that I would present as a mutant when they named me, and I certainly don't think they knew what my abilities would be.”

“Does your name have a certain meaning related to your abilities?” Captain America asked, frowning slightly.

“Oh yeah, it means music or temple in Sanskrit. Maybe my parents knew, maybe they didn't. I never asked.” She shrugged, looking back up at Captain America, who seemed confused. “I guess Professor X didn't tell you about my abilities. You'll find out soon enough I suppose.”

 

She looked up at him and smiled. “Minor key. I bet no one would suspect that from you, huh?”

She brushed by him out of the elevator and into the room, leaving Steve confused and staring after her.

 

He followed after a moment, which was good because she was almost immediately lost.

“What did you mean by that?” he asked.

She sighed. “Did Xavier tell you anything about me?”

Steve shook his head. “He told us that he would send over someone who could help, and he sent... you.”

She laughed. “I'll try not to be offended?”

Steve looked shocked.

“Calm down your dissonant chords, I'm kidding. I'm an empath. That means I can interpret and sometimes influence the moods and emotions of others. But instead of seeing auras, or sensing them through touch, I hear things. Music. Everyone has their own song that's sort of their core song, and there are songs with others, and different moods have different songs... Do you understand what I'm saying?”

“You think you might be able to find Matt by finding his song and using it somehow?” Steve said slowly.

“Yeah, exactly like that.” She beamed. “Is there anyone close to him I can talk to first? I like having permission before I listen for people's songs. I mean, it's always there, but often I just hear a sort of background noise, like an instrumental theme. Everyone I've ever met has one. The dead don't. It's interesting actually, their song fades as they die.” Her face fell. “That's not really important. But the thing is, to listen to a current song, it's like invading their privacy, so I don't like to do it unless it's important. Is there someone?”

Steve blinked. “I'm his immediate proxy for Avengers business, but he did give Jarvis contact information if it was an emergency.”

“I think you should probably call them,” she said gently. “It sounds pretty serious if you were calling the Professor.”

Steve nodded. “You're right. We've just been... distracted.”

“Understandable. Professor also said that you have a... well, I think she's somewhat a telepath? He wasn't very clear.”

“Wanda. Yes, she has mental manipulation abilities. It's kind of hard to explain, so I'll probably just let you talk to her. She was still in with Matt when I left, but she might have taken a break. She's having a hard time understanding what's going on with him.”

Steve led her down a hallway and into the medical wing, where Matt was lying prone in a hospital bed. There was no sign of a woman, but there was a man in a lab coat in the corner, sitting in front of a computer.

“Are his vital signs stable?” Mandy asked.

“As far as I know, yes, but that's something Bruce would know more about,” he told her, pointing to the scientist in the corner.

Bruce looked up and attempted a smile. “Hi. His vital signs are relatively stable, at least as much as I would expect for someone who's comatose. He is breathing on his own, which is a good sign, but his Glasgow coma score, which measures how responsive he is, was down to 6.”

“What are the component scores?” she asked, doing a quick visual exam of Matt's body. When she was greeted only by silence, she looked up. “I studied to be a paramedic for a year and a half before my abilities manifested, and I had to drop out because it was all so loud. And now that I've learned how to control them, for lack of a better word, it just doesn't seem worth going back. But the knowledge stuck. So. Component scores?”

Bruce adjusted his glasses. “E1, V1, M4,” he offered.

“Yeah, okay. Not great, but there is some response at least. Is there anything else about him I should know?”

“His identity needs to be kept secret,” Steve told her. “He's Daredevil, but that information isn't to leave this building.”

“Believe me, I know the importance of secrets,” she told him, trying not to listen as his melody changed.

“In terms of medical information, he's blind. No light perception. I don't think that will have any influence on what you do, but you never know,” Bruce told her, shrugging.

Mandira nodded. “Do you know what I do?”

Bruce examined her. “The other guy is singing. He's never done that before. I'm guessing you have something to do with it.”

Mandira assumed 'the other guy' was the Hulk. And that wasn't exactly the normal reaction, but she supposed if Bruce was like someone with multiple identities, it wouldn't be impossible for his other identity to be more aware of her. And maybe he was communicating in the only way he knew how.

“I'm an empath,” she offered. “But instead of seeing auras, I hear music.”

“Everyone has music?” he asked.

She nodded. “It's unique to them, kind of like a fingerprint. It changes during their life, and depending on the situation, but everyone has their sort of base song or melody.”

“What about me?” Bruce asked. “Do I have music? Do we have different music?”

“May I listen?”

Bruce nodded.

She moved a little closer to him and closed her eyes. “There's definitely two unique melodies coming from you. One is stronger, I'm guessing that one is yours. But I can hear the other one too. It's a bit hard to tell them apart, but I think I can...” She took another minute to sort the strands of melody and to decipher the lyrics.

“ _I never said that I want this... this burden came to me, and it made its home inside... If I told you what I was would you turn your back on me...”_

 

“That one is yours. I can't hear his well enough to make out anything specific.”

Bruce looked intrigued. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “No problem.”

“What about Matt? Is there music coming from him?”

“There's not much coming from him,” she admitted. “I could listen closer, but I'd prefer to have permission first. Steve said that you had a contact for him?”

“Yes, Jarvis has contacted him,” Steve told them. “He's on his way. Should be less than an hour before he gets here. Do you want to stay here with Matt or would you like to go somewhere else?”

“I'd rather not be with him. I might hear something I don't mean to. I spend a lot of time alone for that reason,” she explained.

“I can take you to one of the living rooms, if you'd like.”

She nodded. “Could I speak to Wanda first? She's the telepath, right?”

“Yes, she is. I'll have Jarvis find her for you, and she can meet us there.”

Steve led her through a maze of hallways and rooms and into an elevator. When they emerged, they were in an enormous living room.

“Here, make yourself comfortable. Jarvis can't get in contact with Wanda, so I'm going to grab her.”

He disappeared back into the elevator, and Mandira sank into one of the extremely comfortable couches.

 

She was still waiting when the rest of the Avengers sort of appeared.

“Oh. Hello,” she greeted.

They surveyed her, but none of them said anything.

“I'm Mandira, but you can call me Mandy,” she offered.

“We know,” Black Widow said.

Mandira frowned, but nodded. “Is there something you wanted?”

“We heard what you can do,” Hawkeye replied.

“And you wanted... me to do it?”

Thor nodded. “We wish for you to demonstrate your gifts.”

“Um, okay. How about one at a time though? Otherwise your songs get sort of mixed together, and if you have a close relationship, sometimes that can have its own song.”

Black Widow and Hawkeye exchanged a glance, then nodded in sync. Mandira could definitely hear a melody between the two of them.

“Thor, would you like to go first?”

He nodded again, and Black Widow and Hawkeye left the room. She's not sure if Iron Man will come later, or if he's not interested. She already heard some of the Hulk's song, no, not his song. Bruce Banner's song. Hulks's song was too faint to hear, but she was sure his music was different because they were such different people. And she had tried very hard not to listen to Captain America's song, other than noting it was in a minor key just to shock him.

 

“Are you sure you'd like me to do this?” Mandira asked Thor. “It can be somewhat... intrusive.”

“I am prepared for that, and await what you can tell me about myself.”

She shrugged. “As long as you're okay with it.”

She closed her eyes for a minute, listening to Thor's music. It wasn't something she'd heard before, and she'd heard nearly everything the world had to offer. But Thor wasn't from their world.

She opened her eyes. “I've... never heard this music before. It's foreign, for sure. It's also beautiful.”

She hummed a bit of it, and Thor beamed. “That's an Asgardian battle song, sung after the warriors return home and are celebrating their victory.”

“There's more though.” She continued humming.

Thor's face fell. “That is...” He took a deep breath. “On Asgard, when every child is born, they are born with a song. The birthing doctors and maidens gather around the woman's childbed and sing with the newborn. This song stays with a person throughout their entire life. It is sung at their wedding and in times of worry and trouble. And it is sung for the last time at their funeral. But the song you are singing now, it is not my song. It was my brother's. I long suspected I carried parts of it with me, but I never thought anyone else would be able to hear it.”

Mandy smiled at him. “It's beautiful.”

Thor bowed his head, his hair spilling over his shoulders. “Thank you. I shall send in one of my friends for their turn.”

 

The Black Widow came in next.

“Natasha,” she said, introducing herself. “I'm not sure what you're going to hear. I don't know if you'll even hear anything. I'm not exactly...” she trailed off. “Empathetic.”

“Everyone has music,” Mandira assured her. She reached out for one of Natasha's hands, and waited for her to accept her touch before closing her eyes and listening.

“There's... some instrumental, sounds like Russian ballet music. Actually, no, it's not, but it sounds similar.”

Natasha didn't say anything.

“That's the surface music, sort of like... your background music,” Mandira told her. “There's more, deeper, if that's okay?”

Natasha nodded.

Mandy closed her eyes again and listened.

She hummed a bit of it before cracking one eye open. “Do you recognize the melody?”

Natasha shook her head.

“There are words, give me a minute.” She focused on the lyrics. _“I'm bigger than my body. I'm colder than this home. I'm meaner than my demons. I'm bigger than these bones. And all the kids cried out 'please stop you're scaring me'. I can't help this awful energy. Goddamn right you should be scared of me...”_

She opened her eyes. “Recognize it?”

Natasha looked thoughtful. “It might be on Clint's workout playlist.”

Mandira burst out laughing. “For some reason that doesn't surprise me. You have music together, you know. If you'd like, I could listen to the both of you later and let you know.”

Natasha looked away.

“Or not,” she offered. “Whatever you want.”

“I owe him a debt,” Natasha said in lieu of a response.

Mandira nodded. “Would you like to send him in? I can see what his music is like.”

“Circus theme, probably,” Natasha muttered, but pushed herself to her feet and disappeared.

 

Mandira didn't dwell on that comment, because it was likely an inside joke she wouldn't understand.

 

When Hawkeye, Clint as he introduced himself, came back into the room, she was surprised to find that she couldn't hear his music easily. He was quiet. She had to strain to hear it.

“What's wrong?” he asked.

She shook her head. “You're quieter than most of the people I've ever met, and I've listened to a lot of them.”

“Huh.” He looked thoughtful. “I'm deaf,” he offered. “That could explain it.”

Mandira was surprised. “Yeah, I suppose that could be it. I don't think I've ever listened closely to anyone deaf before.”

“So can you do it or?...” he trailed off.

“Oh no, I can do it, I was just a bit shocked. It's kind of nice actually. Some people are too loud, even when I'm not trying to listen.”

She closed her eyes again and listened to the lilting melody overlaying some of the deeper songs.

She hummed a bit. “It's a lullaby, I think. There are words, but they're not English. Russian maybe?”

Clint looked surprised. “Yeah, it is. Nat sang it to me in Budapest, when the whole shitstorm went down.”

“So you want me to listen to the other one? It's deeper, and a bit quieter, but I could listen to it if you'd like.”

“There's more?” Clint asked.

Mandira nodded.

“ _I want to shine on in the hearts of men, I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand... Another head aches, another heart breaks, I am so much older than I can take.”_

She looked up at him expectantly. “Know it?”

Clint looked surprised. “Yeah, I do. Thank you.”

She shrugged. “No problem.”

 

Clint slipped out just before Steve returned with a young woman in tow.

“Wanda?” she asked.

The woman nodded and Steve slipped back out to leave them alone.

“I heard you were the one who tried to reach Matt. Can you tell me what it was like?”

“His mind was too distant for me to grasp. I have never experienced it before. I could sense it, but I could reach it or communicate with it. It worries me,” she admitted.

Wanda's music was quiet, but beautiful. It also seemed to be half of a melody, like she was supposed to be a duet.

“I think I might be able to do something,” Mandria assured her. “I'll try my best at least. And Wanda, tell me if this is totally out of line or something, but... do you have a sibling? A partner? Someone you're really close to?”

Wanda nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “I'm a twin. Pietro, my brother, he died not long ago.”

Her music swelled and reached a crescendo, the notes hollow and lonely without her other half.

“Your music misses him,” Mandy told her. “I'm so sorry.”

Wanda shook her head. “It's not your fault. And... thank you for helping Matthew. Or at least, for whatever you will do to try. I hope you can help him, for all our sakes.”

Mandira nodded at her. “I hope I can too.”

She turned to look for Steve, who was peering around the doorway.

“Ready?” he asked. She nodded, bidding Wanda a goodbye, and following Steve into the elevator.

 

When Steve was leading her back to the medical wing, she spotted another man at the end of the hallway, but he darted away before she could get much from him. What she did hear was loud and consisted of at least four different songs, one of which she was getting from Steve as well.

Huh.

She assumed the man was Tony Stark, aka the owner of the building she was in.

But she didn't mention it.

“ _Who can I blame for it, I say it runs in the family – I wanna be the man that saves the world – I cannot run from my family they're hiding inside of me – Did I drink too much am I losing touch – Fuck... trouble's coming for the free man – I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose -”_

 

For a man who presented such a public identity, she'd always suspected that Tony Stark was a very private person, but she wasn't sure if the music coming from him confirmed her suspicions or were just another part of his facade.

 

As Steve led her through the halls, she tried her best not to listen to him, but his lyrics were practically impossible to ignore.

“ _And I thought we'd meet up in a week or two... and we'd slow dance to Patsy Cline at the bar... but now that you're gone... my life goes on...”_

She shook her head in an attempt to dislodge the music from it, but it wasn't very effective.

 

“You okay?” Steve asked her.

She attempted a smile. “Fine.”

“Well, here we are. This is Matt's friend,” he said, introducing her to a man with hair longer than her own. He looked worried, which made sense if his best friend was in a magical coma.

“Foggy,” he said, distracted, looking at Matt, lying still in the bed.

“I'm Mandira. I'm an empath, but I hear music instead of seeing auras or whatever other empaths do. I'm a mutant, from Professor X's school. He sent me over to help your friend because sometimes I can use the music to reach people or communicate with them, even if they're unconscious. But listening to someone's songs can be very personal, and I like to have their permission first. Because Matt is unable to give permission, I'd like you to be the one to make the decision. Steve told me that you are his closest friend.”

Foggy nodded, looking miserable.

“Is this something you think Matt would allow?” she asked.

“Under better circumstances, probably not, but in this case, yes,” Foggy admitted. “Whatever it takes to help him, to get him back.”

Mandira nodded. “Thank you.”

She moved closer to the bed and took one of Matt's hands, which was slightly cool. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the bits of melody she'd heard earlier. But that was it. There was nothing else. She couldn't hear his song, anything deeper than the surface melody.

She opened her eyes and looked up at Foggy, Bruce, and Steve, who were waiting expectantly.

“He's too deep. I can't... I can't hear his song except for the faintest melody.” She shook her head. “This hasn't happened before. As part of my training, the Professor took me to hospitals, I've interacted with comatose patients. I've always been able to hear them. The only time I can't hear music is...” she glanced at Foggy, worried about how he'd react before continuing. “Is if they're brain dead.”

All the blood left Foggy's face, and she was a little worried that he might pass out.

“He's not!” she said quickly. “He's definitely not, because I can hear it, but it's just so faint that I can't grasp it or use it to reach him. You said this was magical?”

Steve nodded. “We were fighting a sorcerer. We're not even sure it was supposed to hit him, but he was sort of... in the way. We think it was aimed at me or Thor, because we'd probably be less affected with our different anatomy.”

She ignored that part for a minute. “So if it's magic, then we might not be able to reverse it without magic. Or maybe...” She looked to Foggy, and back to Matt. The way he was looking at him. How his melody sounded, and how it almost seemed to fit in with what he could hear of Matt's.

“Can we have the room?” she asked, looking to Bruce and Steve.

“If anything changes-” Bruce began.

“I'll get you,” she assured him.

 

When she was alone with Matt and Foggy, she leveled a look at him.

“Does he know how you feel?”

Foggy looked shocked. “I don't know what you mean, I mean, we're just friends, and...” He sighed, apparently giving up.

“I'd like to listen to your song, if you don't mind.”

Foggy shrugged, and Mandira took that as much permission as she'd need.

She closed her eyes and began to sing.

“ _And I'll use you as a warning sign... that if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind. And I'll use you as a focal point... so I don't lose sight of what I want. And I've moved father than I thought I could... but I missed you more than I thought I would. And I'll use you as a warning sign... that if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind. And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be... right in front of me. Talk some sense to me.”_

 

She trailed off and looked at Foggy. “Am I wrong?”

 

Foggy shook his head.

“Then we should sing this song together. He knows this song, knows that it's one of yours. One of yours together. Come, sing with me.”

She held her hand out to Foggy.

“ _And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be..._ It helps if you join in.”

“Oh, sorry. I just... I don't really know the words.”

“Yes you do. You've been singing them for years, deep inside. Come, sing with me Foggy,” she urged. “Sing with me for Matt.”

Foggy sighed, but grabbed her hand.

“ _Right in front of me. Talk some sense to me. And I found love where it wasn't supposed to be... right in front of me.”_

 

Mandira stopped singing, and Foggy along with her.

“I hear his song,” she said. “One of them, anyway. There are words. If you don't mind, I'd like to listen to them.”

Foggy gestured for her to go ahead. “Be my guest.”

 

Mandira closed her eyes and held one of Matt's hands within her own. She began to sway slightly and soon started humming.

When she started singing, it was low and quiet.

“ _When I was a child I heard voices... some would sing and some would scream. You soon find you have few choices... I learned the voices died with me.”_

She sang two more verses before returning to humming. The whole time, Foggy was captivated by the music and by the scene in front of him. When she began, Matt was completely still except for the rise and fall of his chest. By the second verse, his eyelids began to flutter. By the time she finished humming and moved on to a different verse, his limbs had begun shifting.

 

“ _When I was a man I thought it ended... well I knew love's perfect ache. But my peace has always depended... on all the ashes in my wake.”_

 

Matt was moving all his limbs now, shifting in the bed like he was suffering from a bad nightmare. Foggy reached out, but didn't touch Matt, probably worried if he'd interfere.

 

“ _All you have is your fire... and the place you need to reach. Don't you ever tame your demons... always keep them on a leash...”_

 

As her last notes faded out, Matt opened his eyes.

“Was there... singing?” he asked.

Foggy hugged him, and if there were tears in his eyes, Mandira didn't comment.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Bruce gave him a quick medical workup, but Matt seemed to be okay, apart from some bruises he'd received in the fight. He was having a harder time understanding the coma and how Matt had woken up, especially after Wanda hadn't been able to reach Matt.

 

“I was pretty lost,” Matt admitted. “I couldn't find my way back. It wasn't like anything I'd experienced before. But then I heard the music, and it was like I had to follow it. You pulled me out,” he told Mandira, looking in her direction. “Thank you.”

She smiled at him, knowing that he'd know. “You are welcome. I'm glad I could help. I was a bit worried at first that I wouldn't be able to, so I'm glad everything worked out.”

 

She looked between Matt and Foggy. Foggy was perched on the side of the hospital bed, holding Matt's hand.

 

“There's a different song now,” she said. “It's coming from both of you. Would you like to hear it?”

Matt and Foggy both nodded, and Mandira took their hands in hers and closed her eyes.

 

“ _I'm only honest when it rains, if I time it right the thunder breaks when I open my mouth. I want to tell you but I don't know how. I'm only honest when it rains. An open book with a torn out page and my ink's run out. I want to love you but I don't know how. I don't know how. No I don't know how. I don't know how. I want to love you but I don't know how. I don't know how. I want to love you but I don't know how. I want to love you but I don't know how. I want to love you...”_

 

She opened her eyes. “There's more, but it's the same. Do you understand now?”

They both blushed.

She smiled. “I'll leave you to it then,” she said, taking her leave.

 

Behind her, as she left, she heard their music swell and she smiled.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Mandira does indeed mean music in Sanskrit. I played around with a few other names first, but that was the one that I liked the best.
> 
> The names and artists of the songs for each of the characters can be found in the playlist.


End file.
